In Madagascar, researchers discovered a previously unknown species of ancient reptile named Kongonaphon kely. It’s part of the ancient animal group Ornithodira — the last common ancestor between dinosaurs and winged pterosaurs.
Kongonaphon stood just shy of FOUR INCHES TALL, a far cry from some of the massive creatures that also comprise Ornithodira. In a study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe its 237-million-year-old fossilized skeleton.
The bones discovered were mainly limb material but they also include a preserved upper jaw bone and “peg-like, unserrated teeth,” study author Christian Kammerer, curator of paleontology at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, tells Inverse, “suggesting an insectivorous diet for this tiny predator.”
source inverse.com
